Content Area(s): Earth Science Topic: Super Volcanoes Short description: Yellowstone National Park is located over a hot spot where molten rock rises towards the surface.. A recent increase in earthquake activity and expansion of the caldera floor has caused concern that the next major eruption could occur soon.
Claim: The Yellowstone National Park super volcano could erupt very soon.
Keywords: super volcano, Yellowstone National Park Difficulty of Concept: hard
MS-ESS2 Earth’s Systems
MS-ESS2-2. Construct an explanation based on evidence for how geoscience processes have changed Earth’s surface at varying time and spatial scales.
MS-ETS1 Engineering Design
MS-ETS1-1. Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient precision to ensure a successful solution, taking into account relevant scientific principles and potential impacts on people and the natural environment that may limit possible solutions.
Common Core State Standards Connections:
ELA/Literacy
RST.6-8.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts, attending to the precise details of explanations descriptions.
RST.6-8.8 Distinguish among facts and reasoned judgment based on research findings, and speculation in a text.
WHST.6-8.1 Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content.
WHST.6-8.9 Draw evidence from literary or informational text to support analysis, reflection and research.
SL.8.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions(one-on-one, in groups, teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 6 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
Yellowstone National Park lies over a hotspot where light, hot, molten mantle from the earth's core rises towards the surface. This is the reason for the many geothermal events that occur, including geysers, hot springs, and mud pots. Geysers are intermittent discharges of hot water and steam ejected into the air. "Old Faithful", which currently erupts about every 90 minutes, is a famous example. Over the past 18 million years, this hotspot has generated a succession of violent eruptions and less violent lava flows. Some eruptions occur so rapidly that they cause the land above to collapse into the emptied magma chamber forming a massive geologic depression called a caldera. These hotspots are often called supervolcanoes. The last three major eruptions occurred 2.1 million, 1.3 million, and 640,000 years ago. These eruptions have been massive (several thousand times more powerful than the eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980). Some geologists fear that the next major eruption may be near. Such an eruption would be catastrophic for a large part of the United States. Recent events, such as the rising caldera floor (about 3 inches per year) and swarms of small earthquakes (over 1600 in one 2 week period in 2010), have alarmed many scientists.
Kehret, Peg. The Volcano Disaster. 1998. 144p. Simon & Schuster/Aladdin, paper, $4.99 (0-671-00968-0). Gr. 4–6. Twelve-year-old Warren Spaulding is working on a class project about volcanoes when he finds himself transported back in time to May 18, 1980—just as Mount St. Helens is about to erupt. Kehret has written other disaster novels as well, including Earthquake Terror (Dutton, 1996).
Title: Yellowstone Could Blow Up!
Content Area(s): Earth ScienceTopic: Super Volcanoes
Short description: Yellowstone National Park is located over a hot spot where molten rock rises towards the surface.. A recent increase in earthquake activity and expansion of the caldera floor has caused concern that the next major eruption could occur soon.
Claim: The Yellowstone National Park super volcano could erupt very soon.
Keywords: super volcano, Yellowstone National Park
Difficulty of Concept: hard
Reading Level (Pit Stop 8 Article):
Flesch Reading Ease: 42.1Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level: 11.6
Lexile: 1200
Next Generation Science Standards:
MS-ESS2 Earth’s SystemsMS-ESS2-2. Construct an explanation based on evidence for how geoscience processes have changed Earth’s surface at varying time and spatial scales.
MS-ETS1 Engineering Design
MS-ETS1-1. Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient precision to ensure a successful solution, taking into account relevant scientific principles and potential impacts on people and the natural environment that may limit possible solutions.
Common Core State Standards Connections:
ELA/LiteracyRST.6-8.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts, attending to the precise details of explanations descriptions.
RST.6-8.8 Distinguish among facts and reasoned judgment based on research findings, and speculation in a text.
WHST.6-8.1 Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content.
WHST.6-8.9 Draw evidence from literary or informational text to support analysis, reflection and research.
SL.8.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions(one-on-one, in groups, teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 6 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
Vocabulary Words: caldera, eruption, hotspot, mantle, eruption, lava flow
Topic of Game Introduction Video: Do's and Don'ts: Reasonable Arguments
Link to Game Introduction Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1yvzUqhaSM
Full Text of Article:
Yellowstone National Park lies over a hotspot where light, hot, molten mantle from the earth's core rises towards the surface. This is the reason for the many geothermal events that occur, including geysers, hot springs, and mud pots. Geysers are intermittent discharges of hot water and steam ejected into the air. "Old Faithful", which currently erupts about every 90 minutes, is a famous example. Over the past 18 million years, this hotspot has generated a succession of violent eruptions and less violent lava flows. Some eruptions occur so rapidly that they cause the land above to collapse into the emptied magma chamber forming a massive geologic depression called a caldera. These hotspots are often called supervolcanoes. The last three major eruptions occurred 2.1 million, 1.3 million, and 640,000 years ago. These eruptions have been massive (several thousand times more powerful than the eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980). Some geologists fear that the next major eruption may be near. Such an eruption would be catastrophic for a large part of the United States. Recent events, such as the rising caldera floor (about 3 inches per year) and swarms of small earthquakes (over 1600 in one 2 week period in 2010), have alarmed many scientists.References/Sources:
Additional Content:
http://www.unavco.org/edu_outreach/resources/yellowstone/yellowstone.html
Author: Cindy Wilbur